Piacitelli named new chairperson for CC Green Team

Jim Piacitelli has come a long way with the Carbon County Green Team since its inception in early 2009.

Piacitelli, a resident of Price, took a hiatus from working with the group for a few years but he is ready to accept the challenges of leading the Green Team after he was named the new chairperson last month.

"I was asked to come back and work with the team again," said Piacitelli. "It's very positive to be a part of team and I'll work hard to help out the Green Team going forward."

When the Green Team first came together in early 2009, Piacitelli quickly became involved as a volunteer. He and many others on the team worked for months searching for ways to help bring recycling to Price City and other areas in Carbon County. The hard work paid off in early 2010, when a group of trailers, modified to accept aluminum cans and paper products, were placed in areas around the city including at the parking lot of Sutherlands.

Since then, there are 11 trailers currently out in various areas of the county that accept paper products and aluminum cans.

But over the last few months, the Green Team has undergone a lot of change. Kris Kiahtipes, who was in the position of chairperson since mid-2012, announced she was stepping down from her position to move out of the area. Also Green Team member Loren Unsworth, who emptied out the trailers and housed the recycled materials at his warehouse along Airport Road, gave his notice that he would no longer serve as the recycler for the group past June.

With the change in leadership and a big void left by Unsworth's departure, Piacitelli knows that there will be plenty of work ahead.

"Our first goal is to maintain the current recycling trailers in place now," he said noting that the trailers are consistently filled with recycled materials.

Piacitelli said Basin Industries Inc., a metal and scrap recycler based out of Vernal with a location in Price, is working with the Green Team on a "trial basis" through June to continue the process of emptying out the trailers and storing the materials. What happens after the month is over is still in the air, Piacitelli said.

"We've just got to ride through the ups and downs in the recycling market," he said. "It's down at the moment compared to years past, but we'll work with Basin Industries to help them be as successful as possible with this. If it doesn't work, then we'll have to go back to the drawing board."

In the mean time, Piacitelli said the Green Team will continue to increase the amount of community partners involved with the group. They also plan to listen to the needs from the community about what may be possibilities down the road with recycling.

"Plastics are something we get questions about all of the time," he noted. "That may be something we can recycle in the future."

Another area the group will continue to focus on is education both with the community and in local schools. Over the past few years, the Green Team has gotten involved with area schools, including Creekview Elementary, to inform children about recycling and provide them with opportunities to recycle materials at their schools.

"Education is a big key for us," Piacitelli said.

As the Green Team continues to undergo change, Piacitelli said he wants to get the community involved with the group as much as possible. Anyone looking to volunteer or to join the Green Team as a committee member can learn more about getting involved by attending the team's next meeting on July 10 at 2 p.m. in Room 106 at Price City Hall.

Despite the questions that still lay ahead, Piacitelli said he is confident that the Green Team can continue to provide recycling options in the county and will adapt, and possibly expand, over the coming years.

"We're confident that the Green Team can continue to work in providing a service for the community," he said. "We need to work hard with the community and try not to bite off more than we can chew."